Don Reitz: An Extraordinary Ceramic Artist

Don Reitz, an internationally renowned artist in a medium he described as dirt and salt, died on March 19, 2014, at his home in Clarkdale, Arizona, aged 84.  A ceramicist, Mr. Reitz was known for pushing the limits of ceramic arts, taking it from functional dinnerware to rustic ornamental pieces crafted from mounds of manipulated clay and massive works of abstract art.  He is also credited more than any other modern ceramic artist for reviving the medieval technique of salt firing, in which salt added to a hot kiln yields textured surfaces far different from those made with conventional glazes.

Born in Pennsylvania and reared in New Jersey, Mr. Reitz was dyslexic and far preferred working with his hands to doing his schoolwork.  He enlisted in the Navy in 1948 and went from there to a career as a butcher, eventually tired of that, and enrolled in a painting class at Kutztown State Teacher’s College in Pennsylvania.  In his last semester in college he discovered pottery and embraced it as his true calling. 

After earning a Bachelor’s degree in art education in 1957, he taught in New Jersey public schools, moving on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York State College of Ceramics in 1962.  He then joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin where he taught from 1962 until 1988, and was professor emeritus there at the time of his death.

Among his honors are a gold medal from the American Craft Council, the organization’s highest award. His work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and many private collections.

Apparently, he found his success in his chosen profession improbable:  “Here I am, 78 years old, working in mud,” he said in a 2008 interview. “And people pay me for it.”

The Island Gallery is honored to have included Mr. Reitz’s works in our collection over the years.  He conducted a workshop in our area several years ago, and we noted that when discussing his talent, the local ceramic artists referred to him simply and in hushed tones as “The Man”.

Punchout.  Don Reitz

Lidded Jar.  Ron Reitz